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Amok Time (episode)
Suffering through his first infliction of pon farr, the Vulcan biological mating urge, Spock must return to Vulcan to marry his betrothed or he will die. However, when the Enterprise arrives at Vulcan, complications at the ceremony may endanger Captain Kirk as well. Summary :"Captain's log, stardate 3372.7. On course, on schedule, bound for Altair VI via Vulcan. First Officer Spock seems to be under stress. He has requested and been granted shore leave. Ship surgeon McCoy has him under medical surveillance." Dr. McCoy notices that Spock is growing restless and has stopped eating. He also is becoming extremely irritable, throwing Nurse Christine Chapel out of his quarters and physically flinging the Vulcan plomeek soup she has specially prepared for him. After this outburst, he demands a leave of absence on his home planet Vulcan. Captain Kirk is baffled by Spock's behavior, but orders the ''Enterprise'' to Vulcan. However, a priority message forces him to change course back to Altair VI in order to be on time for the new President's coronation. As soon as he leaves the bridge, Spock orders the course changed back to Vulcan. Kirk orders Spock to sickbay, where McCoy examines him and finds that if he is not brought to Vulcan within eight days, Spock will die due to extreme stress produced by chemicals being pumped through his body. When Kirk confronts him, Spock says he cannot tell the cause of his problem because it is a deeply personal affair. Kirk eventually cajoles Spock into revealing that his problem is "Vulcan biology," which Kirk correctly concludes means Vulcan reproduction. Spock explains to them that Vulcans are married as children with the understanding that they will fulfill this commitment when they become adults. Spock has reached this time, the pon farr, and if he doesn't get to Vulcan immediately to mate with his bride, T'Pring, he will die. Kirk jeopardizes his career by disobeying a direct order to the contrary from Starfleet, and proceeds with all possible speed to Vulcan. As Spock's friends, Kirk and McCoy are invited to witness the marriage ritual – the koon-ut-kal-if-fee. The master of ceremonies is T'Pau, the only person ever to turn down a seat in the Federation Council. Trouble starts when T'Pring announces she would rather not marry Spock. T'Pring invokes her right to have Spock fight for her. However, she chooses Kirk as her champion, over the strenuous objections of Stonn, another member of the wedding party, who won't shut up about his traditional rights until T'Pau commands "Kroykah!" Both Kirk and McCoy (correctly) speculate that Stonn is T'Pring's actual choice and would be picked next should Kirk decline. Fearing Spock is too weak to fight Stonn, Kirk agrees. It is only then he is informed that it is to be a fight to the death. The fight ensues and Spock quickly demonstrates physical superiority. McCoy objects to T'Pau that Kirk isn't used to the Vulcan atmosphere and climate. He asks permission to inject the captain with a tri-ox compound to compensate. T'Pau agrees and Kirk is given the injection. During the fight, Spock apparently strangles Kirk to death, and McCoy accompanies the captain's body back to the Enterprise. Spock, his mating urges curbed by the knowledge that Kirk, his friend and captain, is dead by his own hand, demands to know why T'Pring took Kirk as her champion. T'Pring reveals that she did not want to be the "consort of a legend", as Spock had become to his people, and instead started an affair with Stonn; she chose Kirk as her champion to force a stalemate - Kirk, being an outsider and not knowing her, would have no reason to keep her as his bride, and Spock would either release her out of the stigma of claiming a wife who had challenged the marriage, or be too wrapped up with his career in Starfleet to be around to ensure their marriage stuck, thus allowing her to be with Stonn regardless of the outcome. Seeing the flawless logic behind the reasoning, Spock relinquishes T'Pring to Stonn, then returns to the starship, expecting to face court-martial for murder. In sickbay, however, he finds Kirk alive and well, having been injected not with tri-ox, but with a neuroparalyzer which simulates death. Here, he is overjoyed to find Kirk alive, betraying his emotion with a big smile. Kirk is let off the hook for disobeying orders when Starfleet retroactively grants permission to divert to Vulcan at T'Pau's request. Memorable Quotes "What is this!?" (throws bowl of plomeek soup into the corridor) "Poking, prying – if I want anything from you, I'll ask for it!" : - Spock "Jim, you gotta get Spock to Vulcan." "Bones, I will, I will, as soon as this mission is complete..." "NO! Now, right away. You don't get him to Vulcan in a week, eight days at the outside, he'll die. He'll die, Jim!" "Why...must he die? Why within eight days? Explain." "I don't know." "Keep saying that. Are you a doctor, or aren't you?" : - Kirk and McCoy "How do Vulcans choose their mates - haven't you wondered?" "I guess the rest of us assume that it's done... quite logically." : - Spock and Kirk "I owe him my life a dozen times over – isn't that worth a career? He's my friend!" : - Kirk "He described it to me as meaning ''marriage or challenge. In the distant past, Vulcans killed to win their mates." "''And they still go mad at this time... perhaps the price they pay for having no emotion the rest of the time." : - Kirk, explaining the Koon-ut/Kal-i-fee to McCoy "What do you mean, 'if both survive? " "This combat... is to the death." : - Kirk and T'Pau "After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true." :- Spock "Live long and prosper, Spock." "I shall do neither for I have killed my captain and my friend." :- T'Pau and Spock "Doctor, I shall be resigning my commission immediately, of course..." "Now, Spock..." "...so I would appreciate your making the final arrangements." "...Spock, I..." "Doctor, please, let me finish. There can be no excuse for the crime of which I'm guilty - I intend to offer no defense. Furthermore, I shall order Mr. Scott to take immediate command of this vessel." "Don't you think you better check with me first?" "Captain?! JIM!!!" :- Spock, McCoy and, much to Spock's surprise, Kirk "There's just one thing, Mr. Spock. You can't tell me that when you first saw Jim alive that you weren't on the verge of giving us an emotional scene that would have brought the house down." "Merely my quite logical relief that Starfleet had not lost a highly proficient captain." "Yes Mr. Spock, I understand." "Thank you, Captain." "Of course, Mr. Spock. Your reaction was quite logical." "Thank you, Doctor." "In a pig's eye." "Come on Spock, let's go mind the store." : - McCoy, Spock and Kirk Background Information Story and script * This episode marked the first use of the Vulcan salute (by T'Pau) and of the words "Live long and prosper" (by Spock). The salute, incidentally, is actually a hand sign done with both hands by the of the Hebrew tribes when the congregation of a Jewish synagogue is being blessed with the "May the Lord bless you and keep you" prayer. According to Nimoy in a 1984 television special Star Trek Memories, the original script called for Spock to walk up to T'Pau and then they would exchange brief greetings and Nimoy thought this might be a good chance to bring something unique to the Vulcan people. When he spoke to the show's director, Nimoy remarked that as an example, like most people will shake hands, how military officers salute each other and Asians will bow to each other, perhaps Vulcans will do the salute that he remembered from his childhood and the director agreed to try it. * Kirk at one point says to Spock, "You have been called the best first officer in the fleet." It was McCoy who said this, in * In the original script, there were a few more Vulcan words. Spock described Kirk and McCoy as his lak noy, the equivalent of best man. When T'Pring makes her challenge, the wedding party begins to discuss what's going on, all in Vulcan, until T'Pau shuts them up. Cast and characters *James Doohan (Scotty) does not appear in this episode, though he's mentioned by Spock. * According to Nimoy, Celia Lovsky couldn't actually do the Vulcan salute naturally, so she had to use her other hand to put her fingers in the right pattern below camera, then hold it up at the right moment. (Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek Memories) * Mary Rice was photographed as a young T'Pring on during the filming of the episode. She only wore one pointed ear since only one side of her face would be visible in the photo. Also, the ear was clearly made for an adult, as it does not fit the young girl. * Although this episode was originally aired as the second season premiere, this was the last episode filmed in which Walter Koenig wore a wig. He had worn a wig in three previously shot episodes while his hair grew out. * Spock has definitely been promoted from lieutenant commander as of this episode. The nameplate outside his quarters reads "Commander Spock", and Vulcan Space Central later asks for him as "Commander Spock." Sets * When McCoy emerges from the doorway in the first scene, there is no elevator set inside. The elevator is accessed from a side doorway for this episode. This was probably done in advance of the next episode filmed, , to show the wrecked condition of Matt Decker's starship. When the landing party beams onto the Constellation, the door is open at the end of this same corridor and no turbolift is inside. In , a turbolift is located right outside sickbay and the one at the corridor terminus is not utilized. Set drawings indicate the doorway at the end of that corridor did not regularly contain an elevator, however. * A change in this season is thick painted stripes across the corridor floors. On the sister ship , as seen in , it was revealed that these stripes delineated various features like the edges of grav plates. Originally, they may also have been meant to mark areas on the stage where walls were to intersect, or maybe as decorations. * This is the first episode of the second season to offer a look at the further-expanded sickbay that now includes McCoy's new office. In more beds in the infirmary section of the sickbay are added. * This is the first time Spock's quarters are seen fully. A very brief shot of his quarters is seen in , with a tricorder and red glass statue seen behind him to make the room look different from the Kirk's quarters set. Here, a large statue with blinking lights, red curtains and objects resembling molecular models are seen, among other "Spockian" decor. Production * Romulan helmets are reused from , this time worn by Vulcans during the pon farr ritual. * The fight music for this episode was re-used in a number of second-season episodes, among them , , , and . The Spock theme, played by bassist Barney Kessel, was recycled for and . * As the first episode aired in Season 2, this segment debuted the new second season opening credits. DeForest Kelley's name was added to the "starring" cast and the theme music was extended and had a female soprano voice and percussion added to it. Other information * This episode is referenced in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Babylon". In that episode, Colonel Mitchell is given an herb to make him appear dead by a Sodan named Jolan. Upon waking up and finding out that it worked, Mitchell says "Well done, Bones." * In the German version of this episode, the TV station ZDF changed the dialog and cut several scenes to avoid talking about sexual issues. In the German dubbing, pon farr is a disease Spock is suffering from (called "Weltraumfieber", meaning "space fever") and parts of the episode (such as Spock killing Kirk) are explained away as being simply a nightmare that Spock experiences as a result of being ill. The nightmare is caused by an experimental medication Spock is given by McCoy. Therefore, the Enterprise did not even visit Vulcan in the German version of the episode, since Spock is just hallucinating about it. * This episode was nominated for a Hugo Award in as "Best Dramatic Presentation". * Bantam Books published a series of novelizations called "foto-novels," which took photographic stills from actual episodes and arranged word balloons and text over them, to create a comic book formatted story. The twelfth and final installment was an adaptation of this episode. * Other references from modern film and TV: ** episode " " featured a "Claw-plach" ceremony with the Decapodian National Anthem matching the battle theme from "Amok Time". ** The motion picture has Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick facing off in Medieval Times, with Jim Carrey quoting lines from the fight, and even utilizing a weapon similar to Spock's. Production timeline * Story outline by Theodore Sturgeon, * Final draft script, * Second revised final draft, * Filmed in early, mid-June 1967 Video and DVD releases * Original US Betamax release: . * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 18, catalog number VHR 2343, release date unknown. * US VHS release: . * UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.2, . * Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 17, . * As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection. * As part of The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series DVD collection. Remastered information The remastered version of "Amok Time" first aired during the weekend of . In addition to new space sequences showing the Enterprise arriving at the planet Vulcan, a sequence was inserted showing digital representations of Kirk, Spock and McCoy walking over a large natural outcropping to Spock's family ceremony site. This is the first instance in the remastered edition episodes in which original sequences have been replaced with all-new computer-generated shots. Shots of the Vulcan landscape also featured a glimpse of the city of ShiKahr from Star Trek: The Animated Series. The background in the image of a young T'Pring was updated to resemble the entrance set seen in T'Pol's mother's house in . Image:T'Pring, age 7.jpg|Original photo of T'Pring Image:T'Pring, age 7 (remastered).jpg|Remastered version Image:Vulcan from orbit, Amok Time.jpg|Original shot of Vulcan Image:Vulcan from orbit, Amok Time remastered.jpg|...and its CGI replacement Image:Vulcan arena.jpg|The original shot on Vulcan Image:Vulcan arena and city - remastered.jpg|...and its CGI replacement Links and references Starring * William Shatner as Capt. Kirk Also starring * Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock :And * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy Guest star * Celia Lovsky as T'Pau Also starring * Arlene Martel as T'Pring :And * Lawrence Montaigne as Stonn Featuring * Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Walter Koenig as Chekov * Byron Morrow as Admiral Komack Uncredited co-stars * William Blackburn as Hadley * Frank da Vinci as a Vulcan Bell and Banner Carrier * Walker Edmiston as Vulcan Space Central Voice * Charles Palmer as a Vulcan Litterbearer * Eddie Paskey as Leslie * Joe Paz as a Vulcan Litterbearer * Russ Peek as a Vulcan Executioner * Mary Rice as Young T'Pring * Mark Russell as a Vulcan Litterbearer * Mauri Russell as a Vulcan Bell and Banner Carrier * Gary Wright as a Vulcan Litterbearer Stunt doubles and stand-ins * Phil Adams as the stunt double for William Shatner * Paul Baxley as the stunt double for William Shatner * Jeannie Malone as the stand-in for Celia Lovsky * Dave Perna as the stunt double for Leonard Nimoy References Ahn-woon; Aldebaran shellmouth; Altair VI; eel-birds; Finagle's law; hypospray; Kah-if-farr; Kal-if-fee; Klee-fah; Koon-ut-kal-if-fee; Kroykah; Lirpa; plak tow; plomeek soup; pon farr; quarterly physical; Regulus V; solar day; space sick; tri-ox compound; sailor; Vulcan; Vulcans; Vulcan lute External link * |next= |lastair= |nextair= |lastair_remastered= |nextair_remastered= }} Category:TOS episodes de:Weltraumfieber es:Amok Time fr:Amok Time nl:Amok Time